"So you made it all the way here, too."

Plamen whips his head toward the darkest corner of the cave. There, he sees a sly grin accompanied by amused pale-lilac eyes, both twisting the young woman's face into something quite familiar. She steps out of her hiding place, one calculated step after another, slowly but surely making her way to the two Dragon Heirs.

"Zima," he greets, watching her blue streaked black hair turn to an electric shade as the fluorescent moss illuminates her visage when she stops a dozen feet away. "Did you expect any less?"

A short laugh tumbling through her lips turns her grin into a full-blown smile. "Nope," she replies, stretching out the 'p' at the end.

As a Dragon Heir faring from the Ice Clan, Zima is another one of this year's favorites. Unlike Vid, Plamen knows she's as willing to participate as he is. During their respective training, they've met a number of times and sometimes even sparred against each other. Plamen knows that the fire burning under his skin is very similar to the ice churning under hers.

However, he's hoped he wouldn't need to fight her just yet. This hasn't been in his calculations.

She shifts her stance, left hand grabbing a few wavy locks of hair, twirling the strands around two fingers, and she hums. "Two of this year's favorites are teaming together..." she starts and Plamen makes a motion to stop her blattering, though she beats him to it, continuing without a care in the world. "...I need to step up my game, don't you think?"

Plamen frowns. Is she challenging us?

He regards one of the tunnel openings stationed somewhat to his right side, the only one having the air drifting in saturated with more magic than the others.

Before he can ask, or attack, or react in any other way, she takes those few steps to their side, her deep red robe flapping behind her.

"I guess I have to team up with you two," she says, a bold grin stretching her dark red lips. "Three favorites got to win, right?"

He's not amused by today's events. Why do people disturb him? He's hungry, and tired, and irritated because this test has lasted five days too long, so he blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind.

"I'm not a favorite."

Zima eyes him like he's an idiot, making him even more annoyed. He's sure the frown on his face could make a lesser dragon falter. Not Zima, though. She's all cold hard steel and shiny diamonds. Strong, beautiful and practical. So, what the hell is with all this talk about teaming up?

"Really? That's not what people say," she retorts.

Snorting at the thought that someone could even fathom thinking of the 'aberrant' Dragon Heir as a favorite, Plamen starts walking toward the shaft filled with magic he has noticed before, ignoring the other two Dragon Heirs expectantly watching him.

"We should team up!" Vid half-shouts, stopping Plamen in his tracks because what in the..? "We should..." Vid continues though now he's almost whispering. "The path wasn't clear but it shone with red, blue, and yellow."

Plamen is really, really pissed off. "And some stupid colors you imagined while drunk told you so?" He is being difficult just because he could. He also knew that the Oracle Clan is the best at predictions. Those colors could mean anything.

"I wasn't drunk."

"No, just high from all those incense drugging herbs."

Vid glares at him, clenching the straps of his bag tightly. "Those are meditative herbs to help open one's mind," he tries to correct. "Anyway, you, Plamen, must be red. Zima is partially blue because blue and yellow can also represent me."

Plamen had enough. He turns back to tell him off, but then he sees it- Vid's eyes are shining bright. Too bright. True sight. It is said that when an Oracle sees a vision, their eyes light up and shine like stars. It's also a known fact that Vid is a failure, the only member of his clan who can't see.

Zima observes Vid like a cat would a canary. She's obviously made up her mind.

This also hasn't been in his calculations. Plamen sighs.

Zima catches his eyes, arching a brow as if she's asking him are you going to blow this chance?

He sighs again and motions with his hand for them to follow. They don't argue.

A minute later and three of them are making their way through the tunnel he thought the best for this quest.

Vid stumbles when the light grows dimmer. The sound of it makes Plamen look over his shoulder to see Vid trying to catch balance, a small rock sitting in the middle of the ground being a culprit that's tripped him. And the slope. Not so long after they've started this path, it became clear that it leads to the top of the hill in which this cave system resides.

The moss is still present, though in a lesser amount, scarcely appearing in small streaks. Plamen can see just fine. A small shift of his head and he notices Zima also doesn't have any problems with the darkness only illuminated with patches of blue-green vegetation, she skips - skips - along, a dopey smile present on her face.

He turns back to the front, to the tunnel spreading deep, frown settling on his face while he contemplates the advantages and disadvantages of this arrangement. The pros are heavily weighing it down - you just don't ignore 'an Oracle', not even a dud like Vid. Especially if the same dud suddenly grows bright with the power that shouldn't be there.

The only obvious con is betrayal, as the two Dragon Heirs could possibly turn on him in a fit of greed to take the title for themselves.

"What do you think we'll find at the top?" Zima pips in from his left, probably noticing that the upward slope got sharper.

Ah, the mystery, isn't it? He honestly has no idea. It is a known fact that previous participants cannot speak about their experience. Not even a word, for the magic binding them is strong, and those who try to break it suffer grave consequences.

Another stumble is heard from behind before Vid offers, "A clue for the next part?"

Yes, that would be Plamen's guess too. However, he feels like the Fates will throw another curveball. Not everything is as it seems.

"We shall see."

"Can't you just take a guess like a normal person?" Zima asks.

"We can't know for sure," Plamen says through clenched teeth.

"Oh, Plamen, stop being so stuck up. Always so serious." Zima beams at him with a wide smile but he has a feeling she's just messing with him. He shoots her a frown which is ignored in favor of a fair light being seen in the distance.

It seems they've found an end.

The light is becoming brighter and brighter, replacing the Cyan Moss and lighting up the cave, and then they're out in the open--

"Ooh, a trio appears. That's new."

And there's a big red eye, with eyelids and black eyelashes, protruding from a stone a bit smaller than the one which fell on Vid.

Plamen can sense his comrades freezing in their tracks just like he does. There's a moment of silence before he works through the shock, forcing his body pliable with a few controlled breaths, to be able to react if this occurrence turns adverse.

"What..." Vid whispers, terror emanating from his whole being.

Zima doesn't react, there's no sound from her, Plamen can't even hear her breathing.

This is bad. He can't let the two of them go catatonic when faced with... whatever the hell this is. He needs them, even if he doesn't want to admit it aloud... or to himself. This hasn't been in his calculations. Shit!

"Get your asses back in the game!"

It works; Zima takes a gurgling breath, but at least she's breathing, and Vid... Vid's presence simmers to controlled anxiety, weirdly overpowering the intense and ominous magic coming from the 'Eye'.

Plamen takes a few seconds to quietly observe the phenomenon in front of them. The Eye has a red iris, surprisingly vertical, slit-shaped pupil – a dragon's eye – and it is quite large, roughly the size of a watermelon. 

The flickering encryption circling it looks old, it certainly isn't a script Plamen can read. Its golden contours indicate the presence of the 'immerse' magic, an enchantment of sorts, but he isn't sure what it does. A possibility it keeps the Eye there, attached to the stone, securing its existence.

What's more, the Eye silently watches them, even though it doesn't move, just steadily exists there as if it should. He can feel it, the tingle on his skin where it's opened to the hungry gaze. The pinprick, spreading and spreading, because of magic pouring out from the vivid red--

"How kind of you to join me. I was getting bored here."

...

The Eye just spoke! Without a mouth. Without moving at all.

The words, like they were conjured from depts of nothingness, loud and clear, rumbling with... Was that laughter? Am I imagining things?

Vid painfully wheezes on Plamen's left and on his right, Zima trembles like a lone leaf on a withered branch. He isn't sure what his body is doing at the moment, too stumped to even try to think clearly.

He takes a deep breath. Plamen, get yourself together! It's imperative to get a semblance of control because this is... maybe even the worst possibility that could have happened to them.

"What? No curses? No Invocations of the Gods? Bah! Today's youngsters are really weird."

What does that even mean?

"Weird?" Plamen asks, incredulous. "What do you mean by weird?"

Zima and Vid grab at his arms, one from each side.

"What the hell are you doing?" Zima hisses at him.

A sidelong glance tells him her face is completely white and she's clenching her teeth hard. Vid isn't faring much better with widened eyes and trembling mouth.

"He's doing what he thinks is the best, right?" the Eye speaks again and its deep rumble spreads through the clearing. "Make the potential enemy feel secure and comfortable. Make them speak, explain their reasoning. Because most beings love to affirm their decisions."

That is...an eerily accurate observation. Plamen swiftly checks all his protection charms and enchantments. No breaches. But that doesn't mean this thing doesn't have the ability to bypass those.

Yana had told him as much as she could which means she used misdirection and taught him anything that could possibly come in handy. One of the lessons implicated mental compulsion and forceful mind entry. This could be it - there are many ways to enter one's mind without that person even knowing it.

He has no idea how to proceed, what to do, what to expect. They could be dead in a second...

Both Zima and Vid squeeze his arms where they hold him and it feels kind of grounding, and vaguely shocking because he's forgotten about them. But they are here, scared, maybe even more than him. So he takes a deep breath, cleansing his mind of pessimistic thoughts, preparing himself for any kind of an outcome.

He won't be unreliable.

"To answer your previous question," the Eye rumbles. "I expected more of a reaction when you realized I'm sentient. The last few who've met me all pissed their pants." The Eye laughs, squinting slightly, and the ground shakes from the loudness of that sound.

"One of them even tried to banish me by chanting the Stop Sequence. Hilarious. Like that could work."

The silence stretches after it stops laughing. They should—

"So, it d-doesn't work?"

A shaky question comes from Vid, making both Plamen and Zima snap their gazes on him. That idiot! That idiot is trembling like a newborn lamb, the loud inhales and exhales worsening it.

"Ne," sounds through the hill, that one word spoken in the Old Tongue. "Why do you ask? I already said it doesn't work."

"Umm..." Vid visibly pales at being addressed. He opens his mouth but nothing leaves, his eyes shifting around like they can't stay on the same spot. It takes a few tries before he finally manages an incoherent sound, then coughs and tries again. "I-I had to learn it by heart. It's the o-only one I know..."

The Eye kind of frowns, or at least it would be a frown if the rest of the face is there. For a long moment no one breathes, Vid practically purpling in the face, and then boisterous laughter almost knocks them on their asses.

"It must be fate."

After all those heart palpitations, because this is freakin' scary, Plamen decides to pull a risky move. Maybe they won't die immediately.

"Are you here to give us the next clue?"

Waiting for an answer has probably been the worst 30 seconds of his life - the redness of the iris seemed to spread in a smoky disposition, filling the air with a certain magical quality. All the while they were being scrutinized by the monstrosity settled deep into the stone.

"Not really." The Eye sounds reluctant to part with knowledge. "It's more that I'm here to test you."

A test? That seems reasonable—

"You passed."

"Huh?"

Huh, indeed. Plamen agrees with Vid's bemused exclamation.

"We passed just like that?"

The Eye sets its sights directly on him, Plamen can feel it through the shiver rising across his spine, and then it squints.

"When Flame of Conquest, Ice of the Coldest Winter and Brightest Sight conjoin then guided by the Sunburst Yellow and comforted by the Electric Blue, the Garnet Red shall emerge victorious," the Eye declares like it narrates a story, watching them with a certain amount of amusement. "Well, that's at least what the prophecy said."

The Flame of Conquest - my true spell. Plamen isn't sure how to feel about that.

"Didn't I tell you so? Red, blue, and yellow – I've seen it!" Vid exclaims happily, puffing his chest like a peacock.

Plamen vaguely notices Zima exhaling, before she cries out, "How does anyone know my true spell?"

"For that matter, where's that prophecy from?" Plamen adds getting glared at by Zima for stealing her spotlight. Well, tough luck. There are far more important matters to address than her pride.

There's no answer, just magic building up just like a storm coming. The pressure rises until it's hard to stand, three of them pushed to one spot as if the center of gravity is there... But then, something snaps, and like a balloon deflating, the Eye starts dispersing into a red mist.

Everything that was there a second ago, disappears into thin air. Something else takes place instead: the starting point where all of them have started and entered the enchanted grounds of The Grand Test's examination territory.

Just what the heck is going on?